By the time I had my first bite-sized macaroni & cheese tartlet, I realized that I was in fact NOT in the Top 25. I was a bit annoyed that I had dressed up and driven 1.5 hours in rush hour traffic when I would have rather been at home watching the Thursday night NBC lineup in PJs! Trying to salvage what was left of my evening I turned to two other Fort Collins’ nominees, (and Top 25-ers!) Christina Vincent and Emma Mcardle. When I say that I “turned to them,” I mean that I memorized their faces and accosted them when they came in the door. Luckily they seemed happy to find another Fort Collins gal too! Both of these amazing women work for the City of Fort Collins. Christina is a Redevelopment Program Administrator and Emma is a City Planner.

The three of us sat together over appetizers and drinks and quietly watched the M.C. try to entertain a somewhat rambunctious crowd of 20 to 35 year olds. Honestly, I was a bit ashamed and a little embarrassed that about half of the audience (other nominees and award winners and supposedly the best and brightest young biz people in town) wouldn’t or couldn’t remain respectfully quiet during the presentations.

After the presentations, Christina, Emma and I made an oath to attend again in the future (carpooling next time). Next year, after the awards we’ll make a trip to the Cheesecake Factory to make the commute worth it! As I reflect on a somewhat weird evening of loud “colleagues” and awkward “networking” conversations (ask me about the women who over-shared with me about her company’s hiring policies) I’m thrilled that I met some other successful young business ladies whose offices are within blocks of Cohere!